Why in the news?

  • A nationwide report on Women’s Safety NARI 2025 was released by the National Commission for Women.

National Annual Report and Index on Women’s Safety(NARI), 2025

  • What is it?: It is a report on the safety status of Indian cities for women based on a survey of 12770 women across the country.
  • Agency: The index was  prepared by the Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA) and the report released by the National Commission for Women.
  • Coverage: The Index is based upon a survey of 12,770 women across 31 cities in India.
  • Key Findings:
    • Safest Cities for Women: Kohima, Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Aizawl, Gangtok, and Itanagar are ranked as the most safe cities for women.
    • Least Safe Cities: Ranchi, Srinagar, Kolkata, Delhi, Faridabad, Patna, and Jaipur rank among the least safe cities.
    • National Safety Score: The overall benchmark is 65%, meaning 35% of women feel unsafe or “not so safe” – but coverage suggests closer to 40% feel insecure.
      • Notably, about 7% of women reported experiencing harassment in 2024 – significantly higher than figures reflected in the NCRB 2022 crime statistics.
  • Factors Contributing to Women feeling Unsafe:
    • Urban Safety Variation: The NARI index highlights substantial differences in perceived safety across Indian cities, illustrating how geography, urban planning, law enforcement, and cultural contexts affect women’s safety. Example:Poor lighting and limited visibility, especially at night.
    • Institutional Effectiveness: The 7% harassment rate reported by women in the survey suggests underreporting in official statistics, and reduced efficiency of Policing, emphasizing gaps between lived experiences and recorded data.
    • Policy Relevance: The findings stress the need for targeted interventions in cities ranked low (e.g., Delhi, Patna, Jaipur) and reinforce best practices from safer cities (e.g., community policing, infrastructure design, mobility planning, lighting, and safe public spaces).
    • Existing Social Norms: The survey’s findings reflect deep-rooted cultural and social norms influencing women’s urban experiences, highlighting the importance of awareness, accountability, and gender sensitization.
    • Lack of Awareness: Lack of awareness among women as well as men in the society regarding the existing legislative safeguards for women against harassment such as the POSH Act.

Way Forward

  • Policy Level: Gender inclusive urban planning and policy formulation accounting for women safety and women participation in the economy.Way Forward:
  • Institutional reforms: Increase the efficiency of the policing system by adopting a women friendly atmosphere and ensuring their safety.
    • Increasing night patrolling.
    • Adopting models such as Pink police
  • Awareness Creation: Creating awareness among women about the legislative safeguards and their rights.
    • Employing women NGOs and activist groups for the purpose.
    • Sensitizing the society about women safety.
  • Sex Education: Impart sex education in schools and sensitize children about the need to respect and ensure safety of women.